Indiana University Students for a Democratic Society newsletters, 1965-1966
A Guide to the Records at the Indiana University Archives
Finding aid prepared by Alison Reynolds
Summary Information
Repository
Indiana University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives
Creator
Students for a Democratic Society
(U.S.). Bloomington Chapter (Bloomington, Ind.)
TitleIndiana University Students for a
Democratic Society newsletters, 1965-1966
Collection No.
C469
Extent
.1 cubic foot (5 items)
Language
Materials are in English
Abstract
The Indiana University chapter of
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was founded in 1964 and remained active
until 1969 when the national organization disbanded. The newsletters in this
collection were created to be a forum for members of IU and the surrounding
community to express their opinions on local problems, goals, and solutions relating
to areas of the New Left political movement.
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research. Advance notice required.
Administrative History
The Indiana University chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was founded
in 1964 and remained active until 1969 when the national organization disbanded. SDS
was a nationwide organization primarily composed of, created, and directed by
college students. This organization was part of the New Left political movement of
the 1960s and its members protested the Vietnam War, were in favor of the Civil
Rights Movement, and advocated free speech on university campuses.
The Indiana University chapter was small, reporting 40 members in 1967, but active
and outspoken. They gathered much attention in the
Indiana
Daily Student
and other local press through their protests and actions
against the University Administration. They disliked the power held by the Board of
Trustees and thought that the University Administration was too involved in
regulating students’ daily lives. The organization’s primary actions included
holding protests, distributing pamphlets and publications encouraging anti-war,
anti-government, and anti-establishment sentiments, and working to increase group
membership and awareness of these issues. In 1965, the group tried to obstruct the
draft process by distributing forms and publishing booklets instructing students on
how to apply for conscientious objector status, which was a federal offense at the
time.
Their most public act towards the university was the submission of a document to
President Elvis Stahr in 1968 demanding that IU cease its support of the ROTC
program, disallow military presence on campus, and cease any funding, training, or
research support for the military. They also wanted IU to stop sending police to
student protests, clearly label administrators at protest events, and to ban campus
police from carrying weapons that may be used against protestors. All of their
demands were denied by the President's Office, and their statements also
garnered a lengthy response from former President Herman B Wells, which was
published in the
Indiana Daily Student.
Arrangement
Newsletters are arranged chronologically.
Scope and Content Note
The newsletters in this collection were created as a forum for people in the IU
community to express their opinions, comments, and ideas about the New Left
political movement. They were written, published, and distributed by student
volunteers.
The newsletters contain editorials, speeches, requests for volunteers for membership
activities, relevant reading lists and bibliographies, and information about
upcoming protests, community events, and projects sponsored by SDS. This
organization had its own Civil Rights Committee, and newsletter topics covered
include writings about the Civil Rights Movement, support for SNCC, the March on
Washington, and actions against the KKK. They also include speeches and writings
from the national SDS organization, updates about issues surrounding the Vietnam
War, opinions on current political events in Washington, D.C., and complaints
against government or university policies.
The newsletters also discuss issues relevant to IU, such as plans to form a community
outreach program for low-income areas of Bloomington, a debate over whether or not
participation at demonstrations would harm or help SDS's reputation on campus,
and an article about the role of women in SDS, an issue which later gained
nationwide attention and helped spawn the Women's Liberation Movement of the
1960s.
The first two newsletters also contain issues of
I.F.
Stone's Weekly.
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Indexing Terms
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The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
IUCAT, the IU Libraries'
online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by
searching the catalog using these terms.
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Related Material
Related photographs may be available in the
University Archives
Photographs Database:
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Pulled from 2008/025 and 2013/125
Usage RestrictionsThe donor(s) of this collection have not transferred their copyrights for the materials to the Trustees of Indiana University.
For more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.
The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of others and does not claim any copyrights for
non-university records, materials in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift. Responsibility
for the determination of the copyright status of these materials rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials.
Researchers are responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights holders for any reuse of these
materials that extends beyond fair use or other statutory limitations.
Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives are made available for noncommercial educational
and research purposes only. If you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have questions about its
inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University Archivist.
Preferred Citation
[Item], Indiana University Students for a Democratic Society newsletters, Collection C469, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.
Provenance
Pulled from Accession 2008/025 of Henry Remak's papers and materials sent by
IU alumnus David H. Kelly, Accession 2013/125.
Processing InformationProcessed by Alison Reynolds.
Completed in 2012.
Item List
Items online
